German equality commissioner Kristin Rose-Moehring hopes to see the country's national anthem changed to comply with gender-neutrality norms. Words such as "Fatherland" and "brotherly" would be redacted, the newspaper Bild am Sonntag reports.
"Why don't we make our national anthem gender sensitive?" Rose-Moehring wrote. "It wouldn't hurt, would it?"
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Rose-Moehring suggested that instead of "Vaterland" (Fartherland) the word "Heimatland," which can be translated as homeland, should be used. In addition, the official also highlighted the necessity to replace the word "brotherly," which is too male-specific according to Rose-Moehring, with "courageous."
The national anthem is one of the most important symbols of the Federal Republic of Germany, alongside the flag and the eagle on the national emblem. The text of the anthem is the third stanza of the "Song of Germany," written in 1841 by Hoffmann von Fallersleben. The first two stanzas with the words "Germany above all" were in the anthem's lyrics as well, but after the reunification of Germany in 1991, they were dropped.
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Users in the social media do not seem to consider Rose-Moehring's idea sensible and helpful.
A gender-neutral national anthem is btw not a win. Whether it is brotherly or courageous, whether it is a fatherland or a home country. Nationalism remains.
It is not "only" the national anthem, it is the work of a poet. So take your stinking fingers off, you damned, filthy Social Democrats.
The equality official forgot to take her pills and now she wants to make the national anthem gender-neutral. Completely insane in my opinion.
The one could argue that politicians who are responsible for equality should take care of real discrimination, rather than making hundreds-year-old texts gender-neutral, and thus splitting the people they actually want to bring together. Good job.
I don't know… you always think "It cannot be worse," but I have to say: "Yes, it becomes worse". Politicians are concerned with such nonsense. The national anthem should be made gender-neutral.